FAA extends comment period on Southern California Metroplex plan

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has added 30 days to the public comment period for its Southern California Metroplex Draft Environmental Assessment.

The end of the period is now Oct. 8, which has given the public 120 days to comment on the new project. The FAA extended the period by 60 days in July after the draft was first displayed for public viewing on June 10.

Using Google Earth, the FAA has added new features to its project website that will allow the public to see projected as well as current flight tracks and modeled noise levels within their communities. In addition, the website has visual depictions of various noise corridors. There is further information about the newly proposed procedures, such as the longitudes and latitudes of the various waypoints.

The proposal is for a project that will improve the air traffic flow both in and out of Southern California. This will make the area safer and the airspace more efficient. The proposal requests the replacement of several existing conventional air traffic procedures in favor of new satellite-based procedures. These are important to the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System.